Ceramic vs semi-metallic brake pads

[Aegis]

It's about time to do the brakes on my 2006 Charger, and in my research I've heard opposing views on ceramic pads. Some say they cause the rotors to wear faster, some say there's no appreciable difference in rotor wear; some say that they need to warm up before getting full effectiveness, some say they work just fine from first startup in the morning; they don't work as effectively as semi-metallic, they work way better than semi-metallic; great for day-to-day around town driving, horrible for anything besides track duty; and so on and so forth. About the only thing people agree on is that they're quieter, produce less obvious brake dust, and cost more.

What does the hive mind recommend?

[blackeagle603]

I've had good luck with ceramic pads -- They've given me crazy long pad life even in my Excursion. >80K with a hard braking spouse doing most of driving. We live on a 100M+ yd drive that exceeds 20% grade at the top.


That is except when I got the cheaper of a name brand for my Beetle. The ceramic particles were coarser and wore my rotors into grooves. When I replace them and the rotors this winter I had the counter guy bring out both the lower cost and premium ceramic pads he had (from the same manufacturer). The particle size in the premium pad was noticeably finer and smooth snag free. The cheap pads were rougher to the touch and could feel a wee snagging action to a shop rag when I rubbed 'em.

[TheIrishman]

Is it just a daily driver? Were the factory brakes suitable for your needs? If you've answered yes to both, just pick up OEM parts from the dealer. Yes, they are a little more money than aftermarket, but they tend to last longer and you have no worries about their performance.

[Aegis]

Is it just a daily driver? Were the factory brakes suitable for your needs? If you've answered yes to both, just pick up OEM parts from the dealer. Yes, they are a little more money than aftermarket, but they tend to last longer and you have no worries about their performance.

It is, yes, but it was also a rental car in its past life, and I have no idea what they put on it, and what style is on there now. I know, bad Aegis, but I only did a cursory inspection of the brakes when I bought it, and neglected to check what exactly they were made of. Guess I'll figure out later today when I do the replacement...

[TheIrishman]

it was also a rental car in its past life, and I have no idea what they put on it

I'd probably still go OEM dealer parts.

[HTRN]

Yes, they are a little more money than aftermarket, but they tend to last longer and you have no worries about their performance.

A set of Hawk HPS pads cost around 85 bucks for a 06' Charger, and will blow the OEMs away.

[Aegis]

Yes, they are a little more money than aftermarket, but they tend to last longer and you have no worries about their performance.

A set of Hawk HPS pads cost around 85 bucks for a 06' Charger, and will blow the OEMs away.

Interesting; any idea how long they'll last? Turns out the pads just needed a liberal application of stop-squeak; whatever the last guys put on lost effectiveness in the last couple weeks, for whatever reason.

[evan price]

Carbon ceramic pads seem to resist heat better for trailer towing and hard use. I switched to them in three of my vehicles now, and honestly they don't seem to last longer or shorter than semi-metallic, or to wear the rotors more or less, or take time to heat up. A LOT LESS DUST however.
The exception to that is a set of the Ceramic Gold pads from Advance Auto that were extremely disappointing in pedal feel and service life. Pedal felt soft, and the pads wore out in less than a year.
The Wagner Thermo-Quiet is a good pad, and the Raybestos pads have given me good service too.

Check out pricing at Rockauto.com...there's a 5% discount code available anywhere in the internet with Google searching, and by comparing pricing I can get good quality stuff for a lot less than what the local chain stores compare to.